Process of and apparatus for producing sheet glass



J. C. BLAIR Nov. 28, 1933.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING SHEET GLASS Filed June 2lJ l Sw om, QN

Patented Nov. Z8, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT ori-ICE PROCESS oF AND APPARATUS Fon PRof DUCING SHEET GLASS James C. Blair, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to Libbeycorporation of Ohio Owens-Ford Glass Company, Toledo, Ohio,a

ApplicationJune 21, 1923.` Serial No. 287,099

7 Claims.

necessarily long.

Another object of the invention is the provision of such an improved process and apparatus, 'i wherein the sheet is formed at a relatively rapid rate of speed and carried ahead and passed into an annealing'leer at substantially the same speed,

the sheet being conveyed'through the leerupon 2O rolls normally positively driven at a speed less into' the-leer, said rolls havingv` "means associated therewith whereby4 they may "be driven by they sheet when the speed of said sheet `exceeds that V at which said rolls are normallypositivelydriven.

.Another object of the invention is to provide anannealing leerincluding aplurality of annealing sections and sheet glassforrning means whereby molten glass maybe reduced to sheet form, the constructionlbeing such that the sheet iforming means may be adjusted in'a manner that the sheets maybe fed into the desired section of the annealing leer. Y

A further object of the invention is to provide a Y double-deck annealing leer and sheet glass forming .means whereby molten glass may be rolled to sheet form, said forming means being adjustable insuch a manner that the sheets will be alternately fed into the top and bottom of the double-deck leer.

Other objects and advantages ofthe invention will become more apparent during the course of the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing. Y

InV the drawing forming a partA of this applicaf tion and wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. l is a vertical longitudinal section illustrati-'I v ing diagrammatically a portion of my. improved construction. K i Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 isa sectional detail View of a portion of the apparatus, and

Fig.' 4 isa section taken on line `*Li-Li in Fig. 3. ,Y

The improved construction herein provided has beenrdesigned primarily for the production of and improve generally .L thanfthe speed at which the sheet is introduced v plate glass blanks, although it can also be used to produce ordinarywindow glass if desired.'V Broadly speaking, the invention contemplates the reduction of molten. glass to vsheet form at a rela` tively high rate of speed so that the molten glass will contact with the sheet forming mechanism yfor onlya relatively short time; the sheet being then transferred to an annealing leer which is so designed that the speed .of travel of the sheet can be materially reduced and passed therethrough so that the-length of the leer will not be unnecessarily long. The molten glass supplied to the rolling mechanism may be'produced in in- .dividual pots or supplied thereto from a tank furnace. Y v Referring to Fig. 1,.the numeral 5 designates the upper roll of the'sheet forming mechanism supported and journaled at either end in a bracket support 6. A gear rlconnectedto a suitable source of power is associated with-fthe shaft of roll 5 whereby-to drive .the same. Mounted beneath the roll 5 is the second or'` lower roll 8 of the sheet:

forming mechanism, thevsaid lowery rollY being carried by a` hanging bracket 9, ysuspendedby the YmeanslO from the shaft llwof roll 5. In this manner, the lower roll 8 may be moved about the axis of rotation of the upperroll 5.

TheV rolls`5 and 8 are positioned with respect to one another in a manner to createy a sheet formthe'sheet forming pass k12 being determined by ing pass 12 therebetween which controls the thicknessof the glass sheet 13 produced, the size pf..

8 together as closeas vthe adjustment of the nut 14 will permit. The springs 16 at each end of the rolls are provided, however, to allow for a separation of the rolls should foreign matter or/exceptionally .thick cold piecesof glass enter the sheet forming pass..` In allowing for a separation of the 1 rolls in this manner, serious injury tothe rolls may be prevented when such foreign matter rdoes comein contact therewith.Y Each of the rolls 5 and 8 is preferably provided with a central bore 17 through which a temperature control medium may be circulated. The lower roll 8 is also'positively driven and may Vderive its power from a gearY 18 in mesh with a gear 19, which gear is keyedto the shaft 11 of upper roll 5. The gear teeth are long enough to permit relative adjust-r ico ment between the rolls and still have the gears properly meshed;

A slab or glass receiving. table 20 and a secdecks. and 31.

of the sheet forming pass 12 and are preferably carried by the bracket 9. The portionl 22 indicated in section in Fig. 2 represents the connection between the slabs and the bracket 9 and due to this arrangement, the slabs 2G and 21, together with theroll 8, are all movable asa unit about the axis kofrotation of roll 5. A plurality of rolls 23 are also associated and movable with the bracket 9, the rolls 23 being positively driven by means of achain 24 trained over a drive sprocket 25.'-

keyed to the shaft of roll 8 and driven thereby.

A segment 26 carried bythe bracket 9 meshes with a worm 27 and upon rotation of this worm; the lower roll 8 and associatedfparts 20,21, and 23 may be tilted about the roll 5 as desired. The,

worm 27 may be rotated by means of a shaft 28 to which is connected a suitablehandleor other.

- used.- Mounted between the sheet` forming rolls 5 and 8. and the :leer 29is a pair of sheet conveying tables 34and 35:.respectively, veach conveyingtable being .composed of aplurality orV horizontally. arranged rolls Y3*?. The rolls of the upper conveying table. 34-are in horizontal alignvment with the rolls 32 inthe upper deck 30 of leerf29, while the :rolls of the. lower conveying.

table.-` 35.` are in horizontal. alignment With-'the rolls32 of the lowerfdeck 31'l of. leer 29. The rolls of'y eachof .the conveyingztables 341 and 35 are .positively .drivenxlby means, ,of chains or the like 36"trainedf about `suitablegears carried onthe roll shafts, and. it is preferred that the peripheral speed of the rolls 37, 'comprisingthe conveying tables, be. substantially identicalwith; the peripheral speed-of theA sheetorming rolls` 5 and 8p l v In the operation of :the apparatus, the lower forming roll 8, together withr itsassociatedparts,

Y arerst moved about the axis of theupper forme` ing roll 5 seas to bring the rolls. 23 into proper cooperative-relation Awith theY desired conveying.

upon rotation of the forming rolls,.the glass. willbe fed through the sheet forming pass andthus reduced to a sheet 13 of the desired thickness, this sheet being Vthen passed over the slab -21k .and rolls 23 onto the conveying table`34 and thence into the upper deck 3G of leer 29. The lower forming roll 8 and its associated parts are then moved to bring the rolls 23 into cooperativerelation withthelower conveying table 35, as indicated'by the broken lines. in Fig. l, and a second sheet is rolled from another charge of glass 38, the. second-,sheet being fed'into the lower deck 310i leer 29; Thus,1the` sheets formed are fed alternately into the upper andlower decks of the'leer.v Y

1t is preferredv menthe peripheral Speed Of the sheet forming rolls be relatively fast so that the mass ci molten glass 38 will be quickly reduced to sheet form. This is desirable for several reasons. In the rst place, the glass 38 will not become unduly chilled before it is reduced to sheet form. Secondly, the contact of the glass with the relatively cool forming rolls will be relatively short and therefore the surfaces of the glass sheet will not be unduly marred, and.

thirdly, by rolling the glass at a relatively rapid rate, production can be speeded up.

Asabovestated, the peripheral speed of the rolls 3'? oi? the conveying tables 34 and 35 is substantially identical with the peripheral speed of the sheet formingrolls. The length of the conveying tables is preferably such that when the `sheet leaves the same it will have become substantially set-and capable of substaining its own weight. Howeven if the glass sheet is passed through an annealing leer at the same speed at which .it is formed; Vthe length of Y,therr annealing leer would rbe considerable. Therefore, -thev annealing leer therein provided is of a character Y that theglass sheets canY beformed rapidly and annealed slowly.

To allow for a change inthe speedroftravel-of -the sheet as it enters the leer, the ilrstleer rollsv at the intakeendv of the leer are provided with.A cverrunning clutches, the constructional details i of which are illustratedk in Figs. 3 and' 4. The overrunning clutch comprises a sleeve 38 keyed to the shaft 39 of the roll 32, the sleeve 38 being provided with ratchet teeth 40. Encirclingthe pins 42, screw threaded at one end as at ..431 toY preventY accidental displacementV thereof. The pins 42 are adapted to ,carryv pawlsj44 and alsoy a sprocket wheel 45. The ring members 46A andi set -screws 47 are designed to preventqaccidental displacement. of the ring 41V and associated parts; The sprocket-wheel 45 has trained. thereoverea suitable sprocket chain, not shown,which drives sleeve 3 8is a ring 41 throughwhich extends pivot the roll inthe-direction indicated by the arrow a roll,` the sheet is allowed to drive the roll faster than it is positively driven. When this occurs,`

Y the pawls 44 simply ride freely over the teeth'40' on sleeve 38.

By providing the intake end of the leer with rolls driven in this manner, the sheet 45.willY enter the leer at a relatively high speed and will gradually lose its speed until it is carried forward at the speed at which'the leer rolls are positively driven.

If but a single leer were to be used and the sheets were rolled one after the other, it will be 7 readily apparent that the sheets would soon pile up'on one another. 'Ior permit a constant rolling ormolten glass into sheet form, the doubledeck leer 29 is provided and by moving the. lower forming roll 8 and associated parts into `cooperative relation alternately with the conveying tables 34 and 35, a sheet can be fed first into the upper deck of the leer and then intothelower deck. Where individual/pots are used to supply the. molten glass to the sheet forming mechanism,

one pot full of glass may be rolled out and fed toonersection of the leer` and while a second Apot is being placed into position to supply the molten glass; the rolling mechanism may be adjusted so that the next sheet will be supplied to the other section or deck of the leer and` so on.

Where the molten glass is continuously supplied from a tank furnace, it is desirable to sever the sheet and swing the rolling mechanism for the purposes above set forth. To sever the sheet, a cutting mechanism 48 may be used. It is not necessary to stop the rolling of the sheet because as soon as the cutting mechanism 48 have been used, the rolling mechanism may be immediately adjusted and the sheet continued onto the conveying table with which the rolling mechanism is operatively associated.

It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as the preferred embodiment of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims,

I claim:

1. In apparatus for the manufacture of sheet glass, an annealing leer including a plurality of annealing sections, upper and lower forming rolls for receiving a mass of molten glass and reducing it to a sheet of substantially predetermined thickness, means for receiving the sheet from said forming rolls, and means for adjusting the lower forming roll and receiving means as a unit about the axis of lthe upper forming roll to effeet the delivery of the sheet to the desired section of the annealing leer. Y

2. In apparatus for the manufacture of sheet glass, an annealing leer including a plurality of annealing sections, a conveying Vtable associated with each section, upper and lower forming rolls for receiving a mass of molten glass and reducing it to a sheet of substantially predetermined thickness, means for receiving the sheet from said forming rolls, and means for adjusting the lower forming roll and receiving means as a unit about the axis of the upper forming roll to bring saidv receiving means into operative relation with the desired conveying table dependent upon to` which section of the annealing leer the sheet is to be passed.

3. In apparatus for the manufacture of sheet glass, an annealing leer including upper and lower annealing sections, a conveying table associated with each leer section outwardly thereof, upper and lower forming rolls for receiving a mass of molten glass and reducing it to a sheet of substantially predetermined thickness, a table member for receiving the mass of glass prior to its V`passage to the forming rolls, means for receiving the sheet from'sai'd forming rolls, and

' means for adjusting the lower forming roll, table member and receiving means as a unit` about the axis of the upper forming roll Yto bring said receiving means into operative relation with respect to either conveying table dependent upon to which section of the leer the sheet is to be passed.

4. In apparatus for the manufacture of sheet glass, an'annealing leer including a plurality of superimposed annealing sections, a conveyor arranged exteriorly of each of the annealing secsection, means for driving the conveyors at a relatively slow rate of speed, a separate conveyor arranged in horizontal alignment with each of the conveyors in the leer and positioned exteriorly thereof, means for driving each of said outside conveyors at a relatively high rate ofvspeed, an ad-v v justable sheet forming mechanism positioned in proximity to the external conveyors, and means for adjusting the sheet formingmechanism to place it in cooperative relation with any one of the external conveyors.

6. In apparatus for the manufacture of sheet glass, an annealingleer including al plurality of annealing sections, a conveyor arranged in each section, means for driving the conveyors at a relatively slow rate of speed,.a separate conveyor arranged in horizontal alignment with each of theV conveyors in the leer and positioned exteriorly thereof, means for driving each of said outside conveyors at a relatively high rate of speed, an adjustable sheet forming mechanism positioned in proximity Vto the external'conveyors,

" and means for adjusting the sheet forming mech7 anism to place it infcooperative relation with any one of the external conveyors, a portion of eachconveyor arranged interiorly of the leer beingv p provided with means that will cause the peripheral speed of said conveyor to correspond withV the peripheral speed of the exterior conveyor.

'7. The process of l producing sheet glass, which consists in'creating a .sheet forming pass defined by two revolving rolls, feeding successive charges of molten glass to said pass and rolling the same to form successive sheets of glass, in passing alternate sheets formed through different annealing Zones, and in changing the position of the rolls toY vary the angle of the path of travel of the glass through said forming pass, dependent upon to whichv annealing zone the sheet is adaptedto be delivered.

' JAMES C. BLAIR. 

